Module Directory

This module provides the opportunity to work as an actor in depth and detail on two contrasting plays, enabling students to apply and synthesize all their knowledge of theatre-making gained over their degree in years one and two.

Students work towards a twenty to thirty-minute group-performance of a scene or excerpt from their chosen play in the Lakeside Theatre. This module requires a high level of application as students will be required to prepare, rehearse and learn by heart substantial portions of text for performance pieces. Attendance is especially important as not attending will have a negative impact on the rest of the group and so this aspect of professional behaviour is a strong requirement of this module. As far as possible students will be treated like professional actors in a rehearsal context.

The module will focus especially on the actor’s approach to the text, and the imaginative work and preparation involved in bringing a role and a world to life onstage.  We will explore rehearsal techniques; voice and movement for the actor; director and actor choices in terms of style as appropriate to the play chosen; staging, design and production. There will be opportunities for students to choose to explore areas such as costume, set and scenography; and to incorporate dance, music, movement or puppetry/mask work as they wish.

The plays studied will be examined in critical, theoretical, and political contexts. The background and setting for each play will be researched by students and will feed into creating the imaginative world of the play, its characters and story.

Assessment will be by a group performance of approximately 30 minutes of an excerpt from a play, chosen by the group and rehearsed both independently and under supervision from the module tutor.

Part of the assessment process will take the form of a post-performance Viva which will be recorded for the external examiner, in which students will be asked to articulate their understanding of the play, its contexts, their role, and to evaluate the process and the final performance.

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to experiment with a range of acting styles, approaches and techniques.


• To develop the abilities of students to reflect, analyse and evaluate critically which approaches are most appropriate to themselves, and to the play they are working on.


• To analyse plays and play-texts critically in their artistic, social, political and historical contexts.


• To transform theories and ideas into practical staging ideas and effects.


• To enable students to develop their skills in collaboration, teamwork and professional behaviour.


• To experience a professional level rehearsal process, and then to independently run their own rehearsal process leading to a fully staged group performance.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Employ a range of acting styles and techniques as appropriate to the play, and demonstrate an understanding of their most appropriate and effective use.


2. Critically evaluate play-texts in their artistic, social, political and historical contexts.


3. Apply theatre production techniques in design, costume, lighting and staging.


4. Demonstrate professional behaviour and standards in the context of a theatre rehearsal and production process.

Transferable Skills

• Collaboration and teamwork


• Professionalism in the workplace


• Creative problem-solving


• Confident articulation and self-reflective evaluation of processes, goals and achievement 

The module will focus on exploring two modern or contemporary plays (from 20^th or 21^st century)  over ten weeks, with weekly 2-hour, tutor-led workshops, plus weekly time-tabled and supervised rehearsal time.

Students will contribute research into each play’s background, setting and context. Workshop time will involve table-work, preparing each play-text and then focused workshopping of excerpts from each play on the floor. Students will have independent but time-tabled and supervised rehearsal time to work on preparing their performances from each play.

• Topics covered in workshops:


• Preparing the text


• Researching the background


• Character creation


• Voice, movement, language


• Design ideas and staging


• Entrances and exits


• Performance preparation – warming up; controlling nerves.

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour rehearsal/workshop per week plus time-tabled and supervised rehearsal time
• Workshops will be mainly practical in nature and will involve the creative exploration of the play. Readings and enrichment material will be available on Moodle.

Students are expected to attend every week and also to attend all independent rehearsal meetings occurring outside class-time, as non-attendance will undermine and harm the work for all other group members. Students will be expected to learn lines and be ‘off book’ by set dates.